Bischons are great dogs. They have hair, not fur, so they don't shed.. and unlike most small dogs, they are not high strung and yappy. They think they are big dogs.
They also live forever.. or at least up to 20 years.. my mom's last one lived to 18
Bischons are great dogs. They have hair, not fur, so they don't shed.. and unlike most small dogs, they are not high strung and yappy. They think they are big dogs.
They also live forever.. or at least up to 20 years.. my mom's last one lived to 18
Yeah, as much as I'm not a fan of drop-kick dogs the Bichon gets good marks from me. Haven't met one yet that wasn't delightful.
Chihuahuas, OTOH...
ddavidv wrote: Yeah, as much as I'm not a fan of drop-kick dogs the Bichon gets good marks from me. Haven't met one yet that wasn't delightful. Chihuahuas, OTOH...
How'd I know Chi's were gonna come up :)
While I completely understand the opinion I gotta admit I love the little guys. Our first Chi (Nugget) is everything people hate about chi's he is downright mean when it comes to protecting my wife and is the only dog we've had that ever drew blood on me. In his defense he was a shelter dog and heavily abused so I can't blame him for some fear agression. But when he's not "protecting" her (in other words she's not home) he's my best friend. And he has more personality than you could imagine. But there's a saying around my house, "God made chihuahuas so cute to keep people from kicking them"
Our 2nd chi, Lilly, is the poster child for what a good Chi is all about, she is sweet and quiet and loves everyone. She too is full of so much personality, we are just starting to discover it as she was a puppy mill rescue so she's relearning how to be a dog.
Chi's can be amazing little critters, but usually they are so coddled by their owners that they dont receive proper training and turn into yappy bitey little dogs.
JThw8 wrote: Chi's can be amazing little critters, but usually they are so coddled by their owners that they dont receive proper training and turn into yappy bitey little dogs.
There ya go. That's pretty much it, but it's so commonplace I simply ignore the little ankle biters entirely. Plus, I just generally like bigger dogs. You know, man-sized ones, not ones that fit in a purse. 
Even 4 years later, I still love Goldens...
(RIP Teddy Bear)
ddavidv wrote: Plus, I just generally like bigger dogs. You know, man-sized ones, not ones that fit in a purse.
Smaller turds to clean up with these ones :)
But we have the full range. Our Shepard passed away a year and a half ago but we have a 60 lb Shar Pei and a 45 lb Bulldog on the larger side of the house.
I like both ends of the spectrum as far as dog sizes go. And I don't need a dog to make me feel manly
foxtrapper wrote: I can actually make a pretty good guess as to why you got turned down. You're out of state.
Actually in MD you don't have to be from out of state to be turned down. In central MD living in a different county is reason enough for most of the rescue nutcases (two of my SIL's included).
Dogs are like boobs. Any size is fun. It's all comes down to personal taste.
In reply to Xceler8x: ditto to all both the bs from some rescue and the atta boys to rescuers. i've had both a springer spaniel and a border collie. when my border died i sought to replace with either a border collie or a springer. the springer rescues was a cluster f that frustrated me, a lawyer and we are used to clustered paper work process. the border collie rescue ask some questions on line. within a couple of days the boss Jerri called me ask good questions, i.e did i know about borders and their quirks, etc. the following weekend i went to the shelter and she and i interviewed dogs. Georgia and i bonded, voila new dog. anyway i've become friends with Jerri the manager, she teaches dog trials. anyway what i learned is once you are in with the dog rescue network they all email each other about different breeds. so my gf wanted a std poodle, called Jerri 2hrs later she had a lead on a std poodle. my point maybe you should go meet any of the rescue people, even if they aren't your breed, my experience is that like car people, once they decide you love dogs, the rest will take care of itself. as to the cost initally i thought $250 was high, after i watched Jerri rehab a dog for 6 months before adoption, i understood the cost. if you want a border collie i can help hook you up.
My wife found this excellent article online talking about my exact experience. A brief but good read: Animal Adoption Pitfalls
Just because I'm a bastard I sent an email to the idiot rescue with the link. All I said was "You folks really should read this".
UPDATE, or final installment:
Finally, something female other than a pit bull showed up at one of the local SPCA's, and we snagged her. 
Australian Shepherd mix, 6 yrs old. Dog's female person died and the male person has terminal cancer, so she was given up on 12/30. She wasn't serviced and ready for test drives until this week. Got along swimmingly with the two boys. We pick her up Tuesday due to weirdo shelter hours. So to the "rescue" that turned us down, a music video to remember me by: Sarah Johns - The One In The Middle
Cool lookin dog! Glad you found each other!
She looks like a real sweetheart. I'm glad your experience with the rescue didn't make you give up on adopting. I am glad she has a great home now.
Have you named her yet? 
Wife and I were denied last month because the dog would be home more than 4 hours alone. Yes,we berkeleying work for a living, of course it's going to be home for 4 hours or more a day alone through the week. Oh well, our two girls are more than spoiled and that puppy lost out.
Is there a "Rescue" forum that I can post:
Experienced dog owner looking for young male wire-haired fox terrier. Not interested in answering any of your bullE36 M3 questions but can give 1 vet reference, a reasonable donation and if you aren't filthy looking degenerate animal hoarders... show pictures of 14yrs worth of my family and our awesome pooch. Expects, in return, a healthy, trainable young pooch with no infestation issues and to never hear from you again.
In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:
If I ran a rescue, that's probably how I'd operate.
We were turned down by one because we didn't have other dogs at home. Our current doxies came from a family that posted them in the paper for free.
Local greyhound rescue's forms aren't too long, but they wanted $250 a dog.
Local humane society has plenty of greyhounds, wanted $62. Hmmm, where did I get mine from?
Oh yeah, this girl is over 5 years old, so she's a whopping $50. 
Her current name is Bridgette (she's had it I assume since puppyhood, since she was an owner surrender). Not sure I'm digging that. I kind of let the personality speak to me. We'll see.
BTW, did you know there's a web site "black list" for potential adopters? Yeah, this will piss you off: Do Not Adopt Pets.org about While I can sort of support a list that would list animal abusers, this one is rather scary that only the rescues and shelters can access it. Our shelter of choice didn't check us on it; they just reviewed the 2 pages of adoption info and said "you're approved".
Yeah that seems kinda strange... OTOH, I had a neighbor growing up who put their dog to sleep on the way out of town for vacation because it was cheaper than putting them in a kennel 
It seems most of these places are in the business of keeping animals, not adopting them. I'm reminded of a ford dealer in my hometown that alwasy had a giant collection of 'new' 1-2 year old Roush Mustangs. All of them were $10k over sticker and no test drives until you buy the thing. I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't dump $50K on a mustang just from the looks and the spec sheet alone.
ddavidv wrote: Her current name is Bridgette (she's had it I assume since puppyhood, since she was an owner surrender). Not sure I'm digging that. I kind of let the personality speak to me. We'll see.
Our two dogs names are Solomon, and Samantha. One adopted, one rescued from being put down (elderly owner died) They are otherwise known as buddy, and pup.
They learn their new names fast.
If "BWarglffulf" = food, then BWarglffulf will quickly become their name.
We adopted my daughter's Brittany from the local shelter, and my wife's late Chessie from a breeder that got a bring-back at 2 years old and neglected (red mange).
One thing I found while "shopping", if you mention that you hunt, or want the dog for a gun-dog, you WILL be denied by some groups.
Even breed rescue groups that specialize in sporting breeds, retrievers/pointers/setters.
Your local vet's office can be a great asset to finding the right pet. They are usually the first to know if an owner has issues and will have to give their pet up. And they know how you care for your pet.
mad_machine wrote: I went through all this with a bird rescue place recently. The reason they turned me down.. I think.. is because I rent instead of own. Like may posters above.. I have had plenty of birds, they have all lived LONG and happy lives, and generally when I am home, are out of their cages. Even with a record of vet care (how many bird people take their fine feathered friends to the vet on a regular basis) I was still told they could not place a bird with me.
I find this inexcusable. Bird adoption requires a different skiilset. People are not easily found for the most traumatized birds.
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